The Boston Celtics are 0-3 now this season against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors.

The Celtics lost 124-118 to the Cavaliers on Thursday.

"We're not on that level yet," Isaiah Thomas said. "We're not on Cleveland's level, so we got work to do. And we gotta figure it out.

"The real good teams, you make a mistake and they capitalize on it, whether it be the Cavs, the Warriors, the Spurs -- those type of teams don't let you live when you make a mistake. We're not on that level yet."

Thomas had 31 points in the game.

"[The Cavaliers] know what we can do, we know what we can do, we just gotta play better," said Thomas.

The Boston Celtics would like Jaylen Brown to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest.

Gerald Green and Isaiah Thomas are lobbying for Brown. Green won the contest at the age of 21 as a member of the Celtics.

"It will be good to show the world his athleticism," Green said. "A guy like that, man, anything for him to get exposed is pretty good. And it’s his rookie year so I think your rookie year, you get to kinda go out there and have fun, experience it, and then later on in your years you can just focus on things you need to focus on to get better as a player.

"I told him if he enters it then I’ll give him some pointers, give him stuff that I think he could do. The dunk contest is different from when I was in it. It’s all about creativity and style and how you perform it or whatever. We’ll see how it goes if he wants to get in it or not."

Isaiah Thomas and Russell Westbrook have been named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 19 through Sunday, Dec. 25.

Thomas led the Eastern Conference in scoring (33.3 ppg) and ranked sixth in assists (7.3 apg) as the Celtics went 3-1, with all three wins coming on the road. He scored a career-high 44 points, including 36 in the second half, in a 112-109 overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 20. Thomas shot 48.8 percent from the field and 90.7 percent (39-for-43) from the free throw line for the week. He matched his season high with 10 assists in a 117-112 loss to the Thunder on Dec. 23.

Westbrook led the Thunder to a 3-1 week, averaging a league-high 41.0 points, 10.0 assists and 9.8 rebounds. He became only the third player in history to log three straight games with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, joining Elgin Baylor, who did it twice, and Wilt Chamberlain. Westbrook notched his league-leading 14th triple-double of the season with 45 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in Oklahoma City’s win over the Celtics. It was his sixth career triple-double with at least 40 points, placing him third all-time behind Oscar Robertson (22) and Chamberlain (seven).   

Isaiah Thomas received a platelet-rich plasma injection on Wednesday for a groin strain and is likely to miss his second straight game on Friday against the Toronto Raptors.

Thomas, who injured his groin during the first half of Monday's loss to the Houston Rockets, flew back to Boston on Tuesday and missed Boston's 117-87 triumph in Orlando on Wednesday night.

Thomas had the injection into a thigh muscle.

Al Horford met with four teams at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta during free agency.

The Houston Rockets went first, followed by the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. Horford had met with the Atlanta Hawks prior to that.

James Harden was in on the meeting with Horford for the Rockets.

“I thought we had a chance,” Harden said on Monday. “I thought we had a really good chance, but obviously it didn’t work out, which is fine.”

Horford said he seriously considered signing with the Rockets.

“I really considered coming here as well,” he said of Houston. “Them and Boston and Washington, but especially here and Boston, were probably the two teams I was really, really looking at. So, just a lot to consider. A really good team, but at the end of the day I just felt like I was better off being in Boston.”

Horford prioritized signing with a team capable of winning immediately and eventually winning big.

“He’s just a great player,” Horford said of Harden. “They have a great organization here and I was very impressed with them…I just think overall I had a better fit here with the Celtics, with our depth here and coach and just everything. There’s just a lot of things that went into my decision.”

Jaylen Brown worked out with Jimmy Butler in the summer before his rookie season. The Boston Celtics envision Brown growing into a similar scoring wing as Butler has over the past few seasons.

“Just his competitive spirit, man. I love that,” Butler said. “He always wants to get better. He’s always [willing] to learn. He’ll ask all the questions that he needs to ask to get the answers that I have, and if I don’t have them, I’ll ask somebody. He’s just a true student of the game.”

Brown was the third overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft out of Cal.

“Obviously he’s athletic, he can play, and he’s super smart,” Butler said. “He’s going to be a hell of a player. I think he knows where the game can take him. He’s incredibly smart and he’ll let you know that. Sometimes the kid’s too smart for his own good, like I was telling him over the summer."

“His dumb hair, I think that’s what it was,” Butler said. “I was like, ‘Man, you’re uglier than I am with that hair.’ So I’ve got to hang out with ugly people to make me look a little cuter.”

Brown consulted Butler’s personal trainer and weight conditioner.

“I think the thing that really attracted me to him was really his competitive spirit,” Butler said. “In everything we did, he always wanted to go up against me, and I commend that and respect it. Because the only way you’re going to get better is if you go at the better people in the workout.”